Project Concordia

Project status

In progress

Aim

This project aims to test two hypotheses that:

Manual Legionella monitoring activities account for around 8% of all non-household consumption; and
Non-household users can change their behaviour in relation to Legionella risk management and save around 80% of the water dedicated to manual activities through remote flow and temperature sensing technology.

Over a two-year period, Project Concordia will deploy 1,000 remote combined flow/temperature sensors, across a range of customer types, to see if it can harmonise water demand reduction with water safety and the effective management of Legionella risk in non-domestic buildings.

Find out more on their website, which features a video of the technology used and a form to register interest.

Project updates

Date	Update
28 February 2025	Initial positive feedback on sensor system; interest in demonstrating sufficient use to alleviate turnover concerns. Focus on thematic, cohort-based recruitment, pausing once initial participant capacity is reached. Installation Progress - current installations Technology and sensors manufactured without issues, albeit in two batches causing a slight delay Recruitment for the first cohort centred around educational institutions: Customer 1: 234 sensors Customer 2: 296 sensors Customer 3: 150 sensors Customer 4: 145 sensors Customer 5: 59 sensors. Customer 6: 120 sensors Installation challenges noted with Cohort1 customer 5 due to lengthy approval processes within customer’s org. For future reference some institutions possess strict permitting processes and deploying sensors in larger buildings may required additional antennas for proper connectivity. Moving forward, the strategy will not strictly adhere to the initial plan of 10 customers with a uniform sensor allocation, focusing instead on customer engagement. The future deployment approach will embrace a more flexible, rolling program, minimizing back and forth in sensor movement and prioritizing swift installation once sites are ready. Importance of continued consumer feedback on sensor experience will be a crucial part of data collection; exit surveys might be considered to assess customer sentiment. Consideration of further engagement with health and safety organisations, water management societies, and potential educational outreach (e.g., webinars on remote monitoring technology). The project timeline now stretches to potentially late October.
31 January 2025	Temporary supply chain delay with obtaining sensor devices
August 2024	Project Concordia is featured in Major Energy Users' Councils autumn 2024 edition of Buying and Using Utilities. Read the article here.